Trigonometry Hearts
by treaammo
Summary: Taichi's having math trouble so of course he turns to his good friend and nerd, Koushirou! But what has Tai failed to notice about Izzy, and what will happen when he finds out?
1. Search for a Tutor

_**[Yey for another fanfic! Sorry everyone for the wait. Please note that this story is about a male/male relationship. I also do not own "Digimon." Enjoy, and please review. I'll update as soon as I can!]**_

Taichi was having a rotten day. High school wasn't nearly as exciting as he had imagined, in fact, it was downright lousy at times. His current worry was passing Trig. Tai just wasn't a math person. So with great Kamiya logic, Tai went in search of someone who _was_ a math person. His search took him to the school cafeteria where a red-head sat alone at one of the tables, his nose stuck in a book.

"Izzy?" Tai's voice sounded squawky and depressed.

"Tai." Koushirou didn't even look up from his book.

"Izzy…?" Tai waved his hand in front of Koushirou's face.

"Huuuh." Koushirou closed his eyes, put the book down and turned to face his friend. "Yes, Tai, what is it?"

"What are you reading?" Tai replied.

"Don Quixote." Izzy went to pick up his book again.

"Don _what_?" Tai looked utterly perplexed.

"I'm reading a book, Tai. It's for Honor's English. What do you want?"

"Oh, right. Hey, so I was thinking that you're pretty good at math and stuff, right?" Tai was a master of suspense.

"What of it?" Koushirou looked longingly back at his novel.

"So I was thinking you could, I dunno, like show me how it works sometime. Maybe after school?" Tai looked pleased with himself.

"Oh… you're failing Trig, and Ms. Yamiko wants you to find a tutor." Izzy translated correctly. "Sorry Taichi, not really my thing."

"What? Math is totally your thing." Tai looked shocked.

"Tai… did you forget to turn your brain on again? I meant being a tutor, of course. Seriously, have you ever paid attention to me when I explain things you don't understand?"

"Yup, all the time. I just don't always understand what you're talking about." Tai said proudly.

"My point exactly." Koushirou didn't look impressed.

"Oh, come on. I've gotta pass this test next week or Yamiko's going to have me take remedial Trig over Break. What about soccer practice, Izzy?" Tai obviously had a one-track mind.

"Honestly, I don't see how missing a little soccer practice is going to ruin your game. And remedial Trig might actually be good for you." Koushirou snickered.

"Koushirou…." Tai begged. Uh oh, real name meant Tai was serious.

"Alright, fine. But don't blame me if the knowledge I impart doesn't sink into your thick skull." Izzy waffled.

"You're the man! Woot!" Taichi shamelessly did a silly victory dance.

"I hope I don't regret this." Izzy picked up his book and began losing himself in its pages once more.

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Tai walked home from school that day with a little more spring in his step. His soccer schedule seemingly saved from the ruthless tyranny of Ms. Yamiko. Koushirou would fix everything, just as he had in the past. Koushirou followed a little behind Tai with much less enthusiasm.

"So what chapter is the test on?" Izzy prodded.

"I dunno, something about different triangles." Tai replied. Izzy didn't dignify this with a response. It wasn't a long ways to the Kamiya residence, so they were soon heading up the stairs to the apartment.

"Kari should be home late. The New Gang has a project lined up in the Digital World this afternoon. Mom will be home though." Tai sprinted, taking three stairs at a time.

"I hate you." Izzy said under his breath, taking each stair one at a time.

"What?" Tai called back. "I couldn't hear you."

"I said I don't know why I let you talk me into this." Koushirou responded.

"Oh, it won't be that bad…"

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"So to find the value of the angle it is important to at least know the length of this side here… and then we plug it into…?" Izzy was bent over Tai at the living room coffee table. Their cram session was nearing its end.

"My brain hurts. What kind of triangles do you ever need this crap for anyway?" Tai was at least attempting to be a good student. His notes looked rather like a foreign language however.

"Maybe that's just the problem. You can't think well in the abstract. Lets do this instead: think of a triangle in real life." Izzy's logic could only be flawed by Tai's inevitable stupidity.

"Like a love triangle?" Tai asked in earnest.

"Uh… not what I had in mind. Think more concrete. How about placing you, the soccer ball, and the goal as the three points of the triangle. Now if we calculate…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can't add math to soccer, that pulls all the fun out if it." Taichi was reaching his learning limit of the day.

"Fine. But you can't measure a love triangle, Tai. I don't care how you try to graph it." Koushirou started packing up his stuff.

"Why not? Can't you just plug it into some equation and figure out how it works?"

Izzy sighed. "If you ever figure out how to do that, you won't have to worry about this Trig test, I can guarantee that." Koushirou was looking suspiciously at the health drink Tai's mom had left for them.

"What?" Tai looked amazed. Koushirou admitted that not everything could be solved with math or logic?

"What's in this, anyway?" Izzy picked up the drink and inspected it from all angles.

"Come on, haven't you ever tried to solve a love triangle? I thought you could do anything with math!" Taichi responded, only half in jest.

"Yes, actually I have tried." Izzy put the drink down untouched.

"Really?" Tai chuckled at his friend's sincere answer.

"Real life isn't math, Tai." Koushirou got up from the floor and headed for the door. "I'll be back tomorrow. Read through the chapter again and clean the soccer doodles from your notes, you might actually be able to read them afterwards."

"Thanks, Izzy. I owe you one." Taichi waved to his friend as Koushirou headed out the door.

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Kari Kamiya was a kind and rather intelligent girl. She walked into her family's apartment just before sunset, her usual return time after adventuring in the Digital World, Gatomon and Agumon in tow.

"I'm home!" Kari called to her parents. "Oh, and Agumon tagged along home this time, Tai!"

Taichi was lost in his thoughts in the living room, still trying to erase soccer balls from the edges of his Trig notes. "Welcome back, Kari…"

"What ya doin?" Agumon looked over Tai's homework with mild curiosity. Possibly considering if it was edible.

"I was thinking about love triangles." Tai said distractedly.

"What?" Hikari laughed.

"Izzy said he couldn't solve them with math. And here I thought all this learning would be good for me in real life." Tai chuckled back.

"Koushirou was here?" Kari asked, petting Gatomon who curled up on the sofa.

"He agreed to help me pass my Trig test next week. So far, all I've got is a new word to research: SOH-CAH-TOA. I bet it's French."

"Wow. Izzy's got his work cut out for him." Kari picked up Agumon before he nibbled the edges of Tai's Trig notes. "What did you do to make him say yes?"

"What do you mean?" Taichi gave Hikari a puzzled look.

"Well, I bet he's not doing it for nothing, right?"

"He's good at math. Plus, I think he secretly wants brownie points with Ms. Yamiko." Tai gathered up his papers from the table and floor.

"I doubt she's Izzy's type, Tai." Hikari gave Tai a meaning look.

"What do you know? I bet you've never even seen Yamiko." Tai said indignantly.

"I don't have to." And with that, Kari danced into the other room to finish off her own homework and get some much-deserved rest.

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Tai had a restless evening. It was nice to have Agumon home for a few days though. The little orange dinosaur may be shorter on brains than Tai, but he was a great listener.

"What do you think Kari meant earlier about Yamiko not being Izzy's type?" Tai asked as he spread out some bed sheets for his digimon.

"Maybe it's something like Izzy being a Data-type and Yamiko being a Virus-type. Does she have horns? Lots of digimon with horns are Virus-type."

"People aren't like digimon, Agumon. There are just boys and girls. And I meant as a romantic interest, not for fighting." Tai threw a pillow off his bed for Agumon.

"You've tried to explain gender to me before Tai, but I never really understood. Are boys and girls typically good types together?" Agumon fluffed the pillow gently.

"That's just it, there's boys and there's girls. There isn't any more types, so of course they are good together." Tai flipped off the light and snuggled under the covers.

"And Izzy is a boy?" Agumon curled up into his nest on the floor.

"Yes, Izzy is a boy."

"And you are a boy, right?" Agumon yawned.

"Yes, I'm a boy too."

"….snore…"

"Agumon?" So much for being a good listener.

_**[That's it for chapter one! What do you think? Is Tai too stupid or what? Ah, but you've got to love the brainless pretty jocks, shirtless men calendars wouldn't be the same without them.]**_


	2. Everyone Hates Me

_**[Get ready for chapter 2! This story is about male/male relationship, and I do not own "Digimon" Thanks for reading!]**_

"Tai, you're going to be late for school!" Mrs. Kamiya yelled from behind her son's bedroom door.

"Ughhhh…." Tai could tell already that this wasn't going to be his day.

"Tai?" Agumon searched his partner over for wakefulness. "I'm hungry."

"Agumon… " Tai's eyes opened blearily. "Mom will feed you. Go away…"

"Can I go to school too?" Agumon inquired, not leaving Tai's side.

"School?" Tai sat up. "No."

"Can I go to school with Kari?" Agumon was persistent.

"Don't you have schools in the Digital World?" Tai asked as he got up and dressed. "School isn't fun anyway. Why would you want to go there?"

"They don't have food at school?" Agumon tried.

"Sure they do, but Mom will give you something. I have to run. See you tonight!" Tai threw on his backpack and headed off to class.

"Tai's Mom, can I have school food?" Agumon called down the hall.

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Tai was only a couple minutes late for first period, but that was a couple minutes too late for Ms. Yamiko. Her evil glare and a promise for a talk after class was enough to work up serious nerves. Tai spaced out completely during the lesson, afraid of what torturous punishment his teacher would dream up for him this time.

Finally the bell rang and everyone headed out the door. Some classmates gave Taichi pitying looks or smiles as they left. After the classroom was quiet again, Tai found the courage to walk up to Ms. Yamiko's desk.

"You wanted to talk to me, Ms. Yamiko?" Tai's voice faltered.

"I thought you understood my expectations of you, Taichi. I see now that I didn't make myself clear enough after our last test. If you don't start taking my class seriously, you'll be taking a remedial course during Break." Ms. Yamiko didn't even look up from her desk. "Do I _want_ to know why you were late this time?"

"Um… I…" Somehow Tai knew that oversleeping wouldn't warrant as a good excuse. "I do understand, mam. I'll do better."

"How's the tutor coming along?" Ms. Yamiko asked.

"I've got someone helping me… uh, Izzy, I mean Koushirou." Tai blurted out.

"Oh, your friends with Izumi?" Ms. Yamiko finally looked up from her work. "How did a guy like you get Izumi's help? You didn't bully him into it, did you?"

"Oh, no. I mean, we're friends, he's really great… he he he." Tai couldn't help but notice the sudden interest Yamiko had once he mentioned Izzy.

"Is he doing alright… in AP Calc, I mean? I told him online coursework just isn't the same as traditional classes." Ms. Yamiko paused. "Well, take a detention after school for being late. And you better not be tardy again, unless you want to forfeit school Break. Understood?"

"Yes, mam." Taichi took the pink slip Yamiko handed him and slunk off to his next class.

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Lunchtime was a welcome relief for Tai. Being cramped up in classrooms all day was not what he was made to do. After grabbing some food, Taichi joined his soccer friends at a lunch table.

"Hey Sora!" Tai waved to the redheaded girl opposite him.

"So what did Yamiko want, Tai?" Sora asked casually.

"Don't even start." Tai didn't want to think about it.

"Ok." Sora giggled as another girl sat down next to her.

"Hey guys!"

"Hi Miya." Sora and Tai replied in unison.

"Did you hear about Chris Fairway?" Miya chirped. She was the kind of girl Tai usually avoided: all bubbly and air headed. "You know, the drummer for CRUSH."

"What about him?" Sora asked back.

"He was seen with another guy… like, you know… in _that_ way." Miya whispered.

"Really? Aww, that's kind of cute." Sora replied.

"What! You mean how sad! He's so hot…" Miya pouted.

Sora laughed.

"Oh, ha ha. Laugh it up, Sora. Not all of us have your luck." The implication was obvious to everyone at the table and they laughed as Sora's cheeks went red. Her relationship with Yamato, the local boy band idol, was no longer secret.

Tai was a couple steps behind everyone else. "Wait, so what about Chris Fairway? I don't get it."

Sora and Miya looked at Taichi as if he had suddenly turned blue.

"You know… he was with another _guy_." Miya tried to explain.

"Uh, Miya, maybe you should let me handle this. With Tai, its usually best to be direct." Sora gave her friend the eye. Miya shrugged and scooted down further to talk with another group of girls.

"Seriously, Tai. Please tell me I'm not going to have to explain _everything_ to you." Sora leaned in closer to Tai, lowering her voice.

"What? I don't speak girl language." Tai, being who he was, was of course, oblivious.

"Miya meant that Chris is likely gay."

"Huh? There's no way. Chris is a total stud." Tai looked shocked.

"Just because he looks and acts a certain way doesn't mean he isn't gay." Sora answered.

"But that's totally what gay people are, Sora. Chris can't be gay." Tai whispered back. "I mean, gay guys are all like wussy and stuff. He's got arms like a gorilla."

Sora sighed. "Tai…"

"Besides, why would he want to labeled like that? No one would go to CRUSH's concerts if Chris was gay." Taichi just kept rambling.

"That's why he probably didn't want to make it public. People like you would boycott CRUSH's music over something as lame as sexuality." Sora looked livid.

"What did I say?" Tai looked confused.

"Think about it, Tai. Think real hard, and maybe you'll get it." Sora left Tai sitting at the lunch table scratching his head.

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"Hey, Izzy. Uh… you know, about coming over today. I kinda got detention. Meet me at my house later? Thanks." Tai left a message for Koushirou on his cell before heading back to class.

Tai couldn't understand why Sora seemed so mad at him. But then again, Tai never could understand how he made Sora angry, it just sort of happened. Maybe that's why she chose Matt instead.

And on that dreary note, Tai walked into Chemistry. This was one of Tai's favorite classes. And if it wasn't for all the math, he might even do well in it. Dropping little bits of solution into another beaker full of chemicals and examining the resulting reactions and then learning about why things worked the way they did was awesome, even if a lot of it was still over his head.

"Today we'll be doing a lab on salinity and buoyancy. I've got the directions printed out. Grab your lab partner and get started! Those who complete the assignment first get out early." Said the teacher.

Taichi's partner was a guy named Brian, a transfer student from an American school. He was nerdy like Izzy, but lacked Koushirou's wit and sarcasm. In fact, Brian was another kind of person Tai normally avoided: the arrogant type.

"Such a stupid experiment. This is ridiculously simple for a high school Chemistry assignment." Brian grumbled.

"Less talk more stirring. The water is still cloudy." Tai grumbled back.

Brian stirred faster, careful not to spill. They remained quite for a few moments.

"So Brian, why do girls automatically get mad at guys? Tai asked.

"Probably because they are being stupid." Brian was probably not the best guy to ask. Brian adjusted his goggles and continued stirring.

"But what if the guy didn't do anything wrong?" Tai rebuffed.

"The girl probably doesn't see it that way. For you, I bet it wouldn't take much to make a girl mad." Brian said with venom.

"What's wrong with me?" Tai asked indignantly.

"You're stupid." Brian replied. And that was the end of that discussion.

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Tai spent an hour after school scraping gum out from under the lunch tables for his detention. Ms. Yamiko sat at one end of the lunchroom correcting papers as Tai worked. The monotony of the chore gave Tai plenty of time to think.

Yamiko isn't that unattractive. And to a nerdy guy like Izzy, I bet he wouldn't fear a smart girl. He would probably prefer one.

So why did Hikari say she wouldn't be his type?

Scrape… scrape… scrape…

"Alright, Taichi. You may go."

Scrape… scrape… scrape…

"Tai!" Ms. Yamiko yelled.

"Oh… uh. Yes?" Tai bumped his head on the underside of the table. "Ouch."

"I said you are free to go."

"Thanks…"

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Tai walked home slowly. Sometimes life just sucked. Like it did tonight. Sora was mad at him again, and he was late to meet Koushirou at his house for tutoring. Working on math was the last thing he wanted to be doing.

Finally, Tai stumbled into his family's apartment. "I'm home…" Tai said wearily.

"Tai! You're back! Yey! Did you bring school food?" Agumon came running to the door.

"What?" Tai caught his orange dinosaur friend and walked into the living room.

"Hey Tai. What took you so long?" Hikari and Izzy were sitting on the couch sipping what looked like hot chocolate.

Tai shared a look with Izzy. "Uh… yeah, I had stuff I needed to do." Tai lied. "No offense, Izzy, but I don't feel like Trig right now."

"You look beat, bro. I'll go make you a cup of cocoa." Kari ran back to the kitchen.

"I have to head home soon anyway, so we can cancel Trig for today, no worries. But you know this means extra cramming tomorrow, right?" Koushirou teased.

"Thank you, thank you, and thank you." Tai collapsed into the couch next to his friend. "You know Yamiko asked about you today."

"Do I want to know why?" Izzy asked.

"I told her you were my new tutor." Tai was checking for any signs that Koushirou might have interest in his ruthless Trig teacher.

"You may tell her I have a hard-headed pupil, but she probably already knows that." Izzy laughed.

Tai didn't laugh.

"Aw, come on, Tai. I didn't mean it like that." Koushirou looked worried.

"Here's your hot cocoa, Tai." Kari came back into the room.

"Thanks…" Tai took it gratefully. "Don't worry about it, Izzy. I know I'm not smart like you. I just had a rough day."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kari inquired.

"Was the school food really bad?" Agumon looked worried.

"Always, buddy." Tai smiled. "Sora's just mad at me again for no reason."

"What did you do this time?" Koushirou asked.

"Oh, come on. It's not like I make her mad on purpose." Tai retorted.

"I know." Izzy said quietly.

"Sora and her friend Miya were just talking about Chris Fairway, you know, the drummer for CRUSH. She's apparently convinced that he's gay, and when I disagreed, she got all huffy and left." Tai grumbled.

"Chris Fairway is gay? Sweet." Kari winked at Izzy.

"Uh…. Yeah…" Koushirou replied.

"CRUSH? Chris Fairway is food?" Agumon couldn't keep up.

"Oh, come on. He's so obviously not gay. Gay people are… well, I dunno… come on. You know what I mean, right?" Tai did a horrible impression of a limp wristed, feminine acting, crazy person. "Oh, I chipped a nail…"

Kari tried to interrupt. "Tai, sit down. That's not funny."

"Oh, come on Kari, don't you be mad at me too." Tai wined. He gave his hot cocoa to Agumon who slurped it up greedily. There was quiet pause.

"I think I better get home." Koushirou stood up, a little pink in the face.

"Izzy… uh, thanks for stopping by." Hikari looked apologetic.

"Sure… uh… thanks for the cocoa."

Tai walked Koushirou to the door. "Sorry again that I was so late." Izzy just nodded. "Well, see you tomorrow?"

"Uh… I don't know Tai." Izzy replied hesitantly.

"Wha?" Taichi waved his hand over Izzy's face.

"Goodbye, Tai." Koushirou smiled weakly.

"Uh… goodnight." Taichi watched as Izzy walked away.

Kari and Agumon came thundering up the hallway once Tai shut the door.

"You… you _idiot_!" Hikari yelled.

"Everyone hates me today!" Tai yelled back. "What did I do wrong?"

"I don't hate you." Agumon replied.

"Taichi, I swear there couldn't be anyone more stupid…." Kari put her hand over her mouth. She wasn't usually one to be mean on purpose. "You really need to apologize to Izzy."

"Why? What did I do?" Tai was seething by now.

"What do you think?" Kari stormed off to her room.

"Can I have more cocoa now?" Agumon looked up at Taichi.

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After stuffing his orange dinosaur with all the cocoa in the pantry and putting his partner digimon to bed on the couch, Taichi shut himself in his bedroom. This day couldn't possibly get any worse. Tai threw himself on his bed.

_Knock, knock._

"Go away." Tai mumbled through the bed sheets.

_Knock, knock._

"Uh… ok." Tai got up.

"Good evening Taichi." It was Gatomon.

"Uh… hi. What do you want? Kari fell asleep without brushing you or something?" Tai didn't feel like petting kitties at the moment. Luckily, Gatomon, for all her feline ways, was not a kitty.

"You woke me up from my nap with all your yelling, you know." Gatomon came into Tai's room and perched on his bed.

"Sorry…" Tai wasn't really sorry. Gatomon was more of a nocturnal creature anyway, so he doubted it mattered much that her nap was cut short.

"So." Gatomon said.

"So, what?" Tai answered.

"Precisely." Gatomon said in return.

"Gatomon, what is it?" Tai's fuse was growing exasperatingly short.

"I hear Koushirou left. Pity. He's such a sweet boy." Gatomon started licking her paws.

"Izzy is…er… was my Trig tutor. Anyway, you saw him yesterday." Tai said.

"Humans can be so unperceptive. It seems you more so than most." Gatomon seemed fixated on polishing her claws on Tai's quilt.

"Yeah, I know, I'm stupid. Now get out of here, I've had enough for one day." Tai tried to shoo Gatomon off his bed.

Gatomon glared at Tai. "Do you want to know why?"

"Uh… sure." Tai wasn't sure how to respond.

Gatomon took her time in answering, gracefully leaping off the bed to the floor. "Perhaps you should consider more deeply why Izzy left in such a hurry this afternoon."

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

Gatomon headed for the door. "Koushirou is gay." And with that, she walked out.

_**[Not to worry, there will be more! Please review and I'll post the next chapter soon.]**_


	3. Gossip and Nausea

_**[Sorry for the wait! Here comes Chapter 3! This story is about male/male relationship, and I do not own "Digimon". Please Review!]**_

Tai couldn't sleep. Gatomon's words kept swimming in his head. _Koushirou is gay… Koushirou is gay… _Of course that explained why Izzy seemed so eager to leave after Taichi mentioned Chris Fairway. Tai felt pangs of guilt as he remembered his crude imitation of a gay guy. He didn't feel that way about Izzy. Somehow Sora must have been offended too, although Tai couldn't figure out why.

The truth was, Tai didn't really know anyone that was gay. He assumed it was something some people were just to make fun of or get noticed. Tai realized he probably didn't understand what being gay meant at all.

Then another thought struck him. Koushirou left that night with "Goodbye", not "Goodnight." Tai felt nauseous. Finally, troubled sleep claimed his dreary thoughts.

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Taichi woke early, having hardly slept all night. Kari was already off to her early morning study session with the other digi-destined. They had to keep up with their schoolwork somehow, seeing as they spent most of the afternoon battling monsters in another world.

Agumon was gone too. Kari probably took him back to the digital world with Gatomon. Tai missed the little dinosaur. Agumon wasn't too bright, much like Tai, but he was unfailingly loyal and a comforting friend.

Still much to early to head to school, Tai decided on a long, relaxing shower. Taichi shed his pajamas and stepped eagerly into the warm water. His hair, now soaking wet, clung to his face and neck. Tai closed his eyes and tried to decide how he was going to explain things to Izzy. Was he sorry? If he had somehow hurt his friend, then yes, Tai was sorry. But he wasn't sure how he felt about Koushirou being gay.

Tai was reminded of his need for a tutor, and felt disgusted that his guilt might be self-motivated. Regardless of what Gatomon had said, Izzy was still one of Tai's best friends, and he didn't want to ruin that over something so stupid.

Tai turned off the warm water and peeked out of the shower to the clock above the door. He still had 15 minutes before he had to head out. His stomach was too upset for him to eat breakfast, so he decided to do something he didn't normally do. After wiping the mist off the mirror, Tai took out a brush from the bathroom drawer and attempted to tame his mop of brown hair.

After getting the worst of the snarls out, Tai put the brush away and just sat there looking at himself. Brown hair, brown eyes, brown skin from spending his days outside, Tai was decidedly all one color. Taichi didn't know it, but he was actually quite handsome. He wasn't the kind of guy that worried much about how he looked of course, and that was part of his charm. He looked good without having to do much.

At last, Taichi finished getting ready for school, grabbed his school bag and headed out the door. The cool morning air flushed Tai's cheeks, but couldn't hide the faint dark circles under his eyes.

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"Hey, Sora?" Tai decided it would be best to apologize to Sora first thing. Class was just about to begin.

"Tai." Sora didn't look up from her desk. A sure sign that she was still angry.

"So about yesterday… uh… I'm sorry for what I said." Tai faultered.

"Are you?" Sora looked up. Seeing Tai's tired and worried face must have convinced her. "Uh… okay. Hey, are you okay Tai?"

"Sure. Just need sleep." Tai smiled half-heartedly.

"Good morning, class." Ms. Yamiko stood up and first period began.

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At lunchtime Tai sat at his regular table, his food untouched, waiting for Koushirou to appear. Izzy didn't always have lunch the same time every day, with his online course work and nerdy extra curricular activities. Tai didn't get to see a whole lot of his red-headed friend at school.

"Feeling any better, Tai?" Sora sat down across from Taichi at the lunch table.

"Not really. My stomach doesn't want to cooperate with me today." Tai looked down at his tray and made a face.

"Maybe you should head home. There has been a bug going around." Sora suggested.

"Guess what!" Miya hurtled towards her usual lunch spot next to Sora.

"What?" Tai and Sora chimed back in unison.

"Chris Fairway is in the hospital. Laura just told me, she saw it on the news." Miya looked far too delighted to be reporting such ominous news.

"What? How come?" Sora looked frightened.

"She didn't say. Only that it was about _that_." Miya emphasized the last word like it had great meaning. Tai of course, needed more commentary.

"Huh?" Tai said.

"Oh my gosh…" Sora whispered. "That's awful."

"_CRUSH_ put their latest concert on hold. I already bought tickets!" Miya sulked.

"What happened?" Tai asked.

Miya sighed. "Sora explained it to you yesterday, right?"

"Oh… you mean about…" Tai couldn't finish.

"Yeah. So my theory is that some one found out about Chris and tried to teach him a lesson." Miya pouted. "Poor Chris… I hope they didn't break his nose or something."

Sora just nodded. "Uh… yeah."

"Anyway, I've got to go see if they are posting the new concert date up yet. See ya!" And with that, Miya took off.

"What was that all about?" Tai whispered to Sora.

Sora gave Tai a disapproving look. "Miya is just worried about Chris' looks." Sora made a face. "But as bad as this is going to sound, I really hope it was just some jerk with something to prove and not something worse."

"Something worse?" Tai was already sleep deprived, so his normally slow mind was even slower.

"Oh come on Tai, you can't be _that_ in the dark." Sora was silent for a minute. "It's been all over the news for ages now. Gay suicide rates have grown to record highs the last couple years."

"Suicide? You mean Chris might be in the hospital because…" Tai had a rare moment of insight. "Why the hell would he do _that_?"

"Tai…" Sora shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder what goes on under there." She knocked Tai's skull.

"Ouch."

"Only yesterday you were adamant that Chris couldn't be gay. Now you're telling me he couldn't attempt suicide. How well do you know him?" Sora replied.

"Not that well, I guess." Tai looked confused.

"Exactly."

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Tai was relieved that school was finally over for the day, but worried that he hadn't been able to find Izzy and apologize yet. He waited near Izzy's locker, but after a while of no Koushirou, Tai began hunting for his friend. The computer lab was empty, so Tai headed for the library.

"Can I help you?" Ms. Fields, the batty old librarian asked as Tai walked in.

"You haven't seen Izzy, have you, mam?" Tai asked.

"Who, dear?" Ms. Fields looked confused.

"Izumi Koushirou?" Tai asked again. Ms. Fields shook her head. "Thanks…"

Where else would Izzy go? Tai checked back at his friend's locker. By then, the halls were nearly empty.

"Taichi?" Came a sharp female voice.

_Uh oh._ "Uh… yes, Ms. Yamiko?"

"What are you doing in the halls after school?" Ms. Yamiko's question was filled with suspicion.

"Nothing! I'm just looking for Izzy. You haven't seen him, have you?"

Ms. Yamiko took a moment to answer. "No, not today."

"Uh… okay. Thanks."

Taichi felt that maybe Izzy was angry with him. Perhaps he left for home right after the bell? Somehow, this didn't feel right to Tai. But with nothing more to go on, he decided it was time to walk home. He could always call Koushirou's house after all.

Tai tried to think about how to apologize to Izzy over the phone. He just couldn't see himself asking one of his best friends over the phone if he was gay. His thoughts wondered to Sora's comments at lunch. _Gay suicide._ It sounded so foreign and sterile.

Would Chris Fairway really try to kill himself over such a stupid rumor? Tai still couldn't imagine Chris being gay any more than he could Koushirou. _Izzy_ wouldn't ever do anything to hurt himself, would he? Sora's words resounded in Tai's mind over and over… _"How well do you know him?"_

_**[More to come, I promise. Sorry for the short chapter. Reviews are much appreciated!]**_


	4. The Dreaded Word

_**[Wow. Sorry again for my lack of updates! Here's chapter four, and hopefully it wont be too long till chapter five is up. This story is about male/male relationship, and I do not own "Digimon". Please Review!]**_

Taichi walked home in a slow shuffle, wanting to give Izzy plenty of time to be home before trying to call. It also gave him time to think things over. Koushirou was one of Tai's best friends. Izzy wouldn't keep him in the dark on purpose unless he had good reason.

Eventually Tai got to his family's apartment. Kari was waiting for him just outside the door, a rare sight this early in the afternoon.

"Hey Tai." Kari was looking at the floor.

"What's up, Kari? Shouldn't you be in the Digital World?" Taichi went to shuffle on inside but Kari blocked his way. She surprised him by giving him a hug.

"So about yesterday. I'm sorry I got so angry." Kari whispered into Taichi's shirt.

"Uh… yeah. I'm sorry too." Tai didn't know what else to say.

"Agumon says he'll come back soon. And you should bring him school food next time he visits."

Tai laughed. At least some things remained the same.

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After a quick snack, Tai took the mobile phone and shut himself in his room to call Koushirou. He was starting to sweat. He had no idea what to say when Izzy answered. Taichi dialed anyway.

"Hello? Izumi residence." It was Izzy's mom. Thank god.

"Uh… hi Mrs. Izumi. Hey, I didn't see Izzy at school. Is he ok?" Tai tried to sound casual.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Izzy was running a temperature this morning so I made him stay in bed. He's looking better now, but I'd rather he didn't have visitors just in case."

So that's all it was. "Hey, yeah… sure. I understand."

"He's watching TV right now, but I can see if he can come to the phone for you, if you'd like." Mrs. Izumi was always so polite.

"No… uh…. No thanks, Mrs. Izumi. Uh… bye." Tai hung up before things could get any more awkward.

So talking to Izzy about things would have to wait, for now. So Taichi decided to do something else he rarely did. He slipped out of his bedroom and tiptoed to his dad's study. Kari and his mom were watching something on TV and didn't seem to notice him.

Tai took a moment to look at the old computer buried in magazines on his father's desk before turning it on. Izzy used this very computer to help save the world once. Memories of that summer were bitter-sweet, but Tai couldn't deny most of them were about Izzy. They ended up spending most of that summer together.

_How well do you know him? _Sora's words repeated in Tai's head. While browsing the web wasn't the same as talking to Chris in person, Tai thought it was a good place to start. Tai surfed around aimlessly until he found a news article about Chris Fairway that mentioned his recent hospitalization. The article was vague and short. While Chris was a local celebrity, it was doubtful his statis warrented a full investigation it seemed.

So Tai tried a different approach. He looked over his shoulder just in case. This would become way more awkward if someone in his family saw what he was doing. As quick as he could, Taichi typed in the dreaded words 'chris fairway gay' and clicked on the first gossip article that popped up.

The article could have been written by his schoolmate Miya. It contained mostly speculation over a onetime observance of Chris in the company of another unknown gentleman at a local restaurant. Tai had no idea how anyone could have assumed Chris was gay just from that. It might as well have been a business meeting. Tai knew Matt went out with lots of potential financial backers and publicity advocates for his band.

So Tai had no choice. He had to really do it. He had to suck it up and look up the real thing. Taichi made sure Kari and his mom were still sitting pleasantly in the living room before turning to a new browser and typing in 'homosexuality'.

And he was surprised to find that alarm bells didn't go off. Pink confetti didn't explode out of the speakers. In fact, a list of rather dull looking definition sites now filled the screen. Tai read through one:

_"__Homosexuality is romantic and/or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same sex."_

Tai had to look up the definitions of a couple of words. It seemed so sterile and lacked much of the social stigma Tai thought rightfully belonged. So he tried another: _"Homosexulaity: __when two people of the same gender love each other."_

Tai was at a loss. Where was the laughter, the pointing fingers, the sissy boys that just wanted attention? He'd heard of drag queens, drugs, and disease. But right in front of him was a plain explanation for what seemed like a complex enigma.

Perhaps being gay didn't mean all of what Tai had thought. He still wasn't convinced that Chris Fairway could be gay, let alone Izzy so he looked for another news article. Sadly, Tai noticed that many of them were about abuse or suicides.

Some pictures were posted by a paragraph or two about a boy who was hospitalized after a classmate beat him up for apparently hitting on him. One picture in particular stood out to Tai. It was a boy, not much younger than he was, and he looked a lot like Matt with blond hair and a mischievous smirk.

"Tai, I'm making popcorn. You want some?" Kari sang from the doorway.

"Hiya-iii…. Uh… no." Tai about fell out of his chair.

"Ok." Kari left again without comment on Tai's strange behavior. Tai quickly closed the web browser and turned the computer off. He still wasn't sure he wanted anyone to know what he was looking up.

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"Time for school!" Mrs. Kamiya yelled through the closed door. Tai rolled over in his bed, wishing he hadn't heard. He had slept better, but morning was still a bother.

Eventually Tai got up, threw some clothes on, grabbed some toast and headed out the door. Tai was walking into homeroom before he remembered all he'd learned last night. Seeing Sora reminded him that Izzy might be back in school today too.

"Hey Sora." Tai greeted his friend with a wave.

"Hi Tai." Sora didn't seem in high spirits.

"What's wrong?" Tai said automatically.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it." Sora replied quietly.

"Uh…. Huh?" Tai stared back.

"Listen, I'm fine. Just worried about someone. K?" Sora tried to smile back.

"Can you tell me later?" Tai asked as their teacher strolled in.

"Maybe." And that was all they got in before class began.

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Tai was anxious about lunch break. Izzy might be there. What should he say? How should he act? Tai was all nerves again.

Usually Tai jumped into lunchtime ready to eat and talk until the drudgery of classes took everyone away again. So Sora couldn't help but ask if something was the matter when she saw Taichi peaking into the lunchroom.

"Tai?" Sora tapped her friend on the shoulder.

Tai jumped. "Oh… hey Sora." Tai blushed and tried to look casual.

"What are you doing?"

"I was… uh…" Tai didn't want to say anything stupid, especially as he had just recently apologized to Sora about letting his tongue slip.

"Are you looking for someone?" Sora looked curious.

"No… no. I'm just not too hungry." Tai tried to laugh. It sounded forced.

"Tai… you've been weird lately. Are you feeling okay?" Sora went to feel Tai's forehead. Tai backed-up… right into someone; a rather familiar someone.

"Ouch… hey!" Izzy huffed. "You made me spill my juice."

Tai turned even more red. "Izzy… hey! Sorry. Uh… gladtoseeyrback..er..well…"

"What?" Izzy looked confused. Tai tried to cover his tracks. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let Koushirou know he had called yesterday.

"Perfect… Izzy, hey, I need to talk to you about something." Sora went to pull Izzy away.

"Hey… let me at least finish my OJ." Izzy struggled.

Sora reluctantly let go and gave a small smile. "Its important, Koushirou."

Full name again, it must be important. Tai could tell whatever it was Sora needed to talk about was probably what was making her so glum that morning.

"So… I'll just… uh…" Tai wasn't sure if he should stay or if Sora would rather he left. Her mood suggested ill news.

"Oh, stay put. You might as well hear too." Sora spat. But she made sure to give Tai 'the eye.' Tai usually took this to mean he wasn't allowed to open his mouth for a few minutes.

"Fine. Lets head into Mr. Montgomery's classroom." Izzy seemed to notice Sora's mood as well. They filed into the nearest empty classroom.

Sora shut the door behind them and sighed. "So… you may or may not know this already, but Matt and his band have been propositioning _CRUSH_ for sponsorship. And with the latest… uh… developments, things have become a little complicated."

"W-o-w!" Tai's eyes were as big as saucers. Of course he didn't already know. Sora gave him a stern look.

Izzy seemed less impressed. "I'd gathered as much."

Sora nodded. "Matt was going to finalize a co-performance when Chris got hospitalized. And of course… he didn't know at the time, but, uh…" Her voice faltered.

"Yes?" Izzy prompted.

"_CRUSH_ is disbanding." Sora said simply.

"What?" Tai quickly put both hands over his mouth. He was supposed to be quiet.

"This is the awkward part. Uh… I told you about rumors about Chris, right?" Sora looked at Taichi. He nodded, still covering his mouth.

"The truth is Richey and Chris got into a bit of a fight, and, uh… Chris ended up jumping… j-jumping off an overpass into nighttime traffic." Sora's voice grew quiet.

Izzy was first to recover. "What do you need?"

Tai was too shocked to think.

"Matt was always able to talk with Chris. He's how they were going to get sponsership, so Matt got permission to see Chris in the hospital yesterday. Uh… he's in bad shape." She seemed unsure whether to continue. "And not so much physically. He won't talk to anybody."

Taichi could tell Sora wasn't telling them everything, but for the moment he couldn't work out what. Izzy seemed much more nervous.

"I see." Izzy said after a moment.

"Would you mind?" Sora looked misty eyed at that point.

"Yeah… yeah, I could try." Izzy gave Sora a comforting hug. "When?"

"I'm lost, here… what?" Tai couldn't keep from talking.

Izzy knew best how to simplify things for Tai, so he said everything outright. "Chris is struggling about being gay. Matt and Sora want me to try and talk to him at the hospital." Izzy looked at Tai. "And I want you to come with me."

Tai let out a rather indignant squeak. "Wha…?"

_**[And there you have it. Still rolling with wherever the story takes me. I hope you like! Please review… I 3 reviews.]**_


	5. Visit to the Hospital

_**[On to chapter 5! This story is about male/male relationship, and I do not own "Digimon". Please Review!]**_

The last two periods were agonizingly drawn out after lunch. Taichi kept looking up at the clock, hardly paying attention to his teachers. Sora told them to meet her out front right after school. Matt would rendezvous with them at the hospital.

Tai couldn't help being excited about meeting Chris Fairway in person. Regardless of the circumstances, which seemed like a bunch of crazy talk, Tai was going to enjoy his afternoon. Izzy invited Tai to come, so perhaps he had forgiven him for being such a jerk the other night.

"Taichi!" His teacher called, for probably the third or fourth time it seemed.

"Huh? Oh, yes, sir." Tai went scarlet as all his classmates looked back at him, suppressing giggles.

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"There you are!" Sora called. She didn't seem too happy to have been kept waiting. Koushirou was with her at the front gate.

"Uh… sorry about that. I got held after class." Tai gave his friends one of those cheesy, apologetic grins.

"Never mind that now. Scoot, or we'll miss the train." Sora waved her hands at Tai and Izzy like a mother hen.

The hospital was a fair ways from the school, so the three friends had to take the train across town. They were strangely quiet on their journey. Tai was too anxious to talk, and Sora and Izzy just held impassive looks. It was hard to guess what they might be feeling.

"Matt's car is here. Good." Sora spotted a fancy red convertible in front of the hospital. Matt, being somewhat of a celebrity himself, not only had a red convertible, but also could apparently afford to park it wherever he wanted. Tai rolled his eyes.

"I'm getting a little nervous." Izzy spoke for the first time on their little journey.

"Me too. But I'm glad you're coming with me, Izzy. I know you can help." Sora gave a small smile to the shorter redhead.

Now that they were actually walking into the hospital, Tai remembered how much he hated this place. Kari was sent here often as a young child. One time in particular Tai remembered vividly.

"Uh… he's not, you know, like going to die or anything… right?" Tai finally asked. Trying to sound casual.

"He's stable enough." Sora sort of glared at Taichi as she answered. He decided that probably meant for him to shut his mouth again.

Sora walked up to the front desk and talked to the nurse for a moment before coming back to Tai and Izzy at the front doors. She handed them each a surgical mask. Tai stuffed his in his pocket and Sora tied hers around her neck. Izzy put his on correctly. It hid most of his face, but seeing as he had been sick with a fever recently, Tai couldn't blame him.

"He's been moved to the fourth floor. Matt's already up there." Sora lead them to the elevators. Tai and Izzy followed obediently, walking kind of like zombies. Hospitals were scary.

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A nurse greeted them as they got off, and she lead them to Chris' room. The halls were strangely quiet and empty. Tai felt sick with the smell of the place. Despite the warm toned walls, it felt cold and sterile.

"Here you are." The nurse came to a stop in front of one of the larger rooms and gestured for the three friends to enter. She then left back the way they had come.

"Uh… maybe I should go in first and let Matt and Chris know you're here." Sora said in a whisper. "I'll be just a minute."

"Ok." Izzy sounded muffled under the mask. He was also rather green. Taichi felt sorry for him. He probably didn't like it here any more than Tai did.

Sora went in alone. Tai could hear Matt's greeting, and some soft whispers. Izzy just stood by Tai's side, rigid as a statue.

"You think he'll be okay?" Tai tried to make conversation.

Izzy sort of blankly looked back. "Would you be okay after jumping off an overpass?"

"Uh… no, I guess not." Tai felt dumb. Why had Izzy asked him to come along? The situation was awkward enough without adding Koushirou's sarcastic jibes.

Taichi still couldn't believe Chris was gay. It just wasn't possible. Izzy, maybe, but Chris was definitely straight. There had to be a better explanation. There had to be something normal going on to explain how crazy everything felt.

Matt came out of Chris' room. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "I'm glad you came, guys." Matt gave them a tired smile, and then he looked at Koushirou. "Thanks, Izzy."

Tai's heart was going to beat out of his chest with nerves. Matt nodded for them to enter Chris' room. Izzy went first. Tai followed behind slowly. What was waiting for them in the hospital bed? Tai imagined a full-body cast mummy with pulleys and beeping machines like in the movies.

What he actually saw was much worse than anything he could have imagined. Chris, usually so clean-cut and rocking the latest fashion, was almost unrecognizable. Tai knew he wasn't more than a year or two older than himself, but he looked much, much older. Instead of trendy clothes, he had on a baggy, blue hospital gown. Chris' hair was a mess, he needed a shave, and he was sporting a purple bruise and gash below his left eye.

Despite his unkempt appearance, it was the hollow, dead look in his eyes that made the scene that much worse. It was almost like Chris was a ghost already. Tai noticed Chris' leg was broken, but other than that he didn't seem to be seriously injured physically. Any doubts that Tai had about Chris jumping voluntarily off the overpass were fading fast.

"These are our friends Izzy and Tai. Izzy is the friend of mine I talked about. I'm going to take Matt down to the cafeteria, but we'll be back soon, or you can always call us if you need anything." Sora looked from Chris to Izzy, and then slowly exited the room.

Not sure what to do with themselves, Tai and Izzy sat down on the only two chairs in the room. Izzy sat in the chair right next to Chris' bed. He looked red now instead of green. Tai was just glad to not be in Izzy's position, whatever that was exactly.

"It's good to meet you Chris." Izzy began. "Sora hasn't told me much, just that she and Matt felt that it might be good for us to talk."

Chris had followed all of the proceedings up to now with his eyes, but hadn't said a word. His blank stare back at Izzy was unnerving.

"Uh… t'this is my friend Tai. I asked him to come along as a favor. He's just going to listen." Izzy gave Tai 'the look.' He must have learned it from Sora. Tai got the message.

"Sora and Matt are good friends." Chris spoke. His voice was husky, like he had a cold.

"Yes, yes they are." Izzy seemed to smile behind the mask.

There was silence for a moment or two. Chris didn't seem to be in any hurry.

"I've never broken any bones before. Does it hurt?" Izzy pointed at Chris' cast.

"No. Not anymore." Chris gave Izzy another stare.

"That's good to know." Izzy didn't seem to be in a hurry either.

"Why don't you take that mask off?" Chris asked.

"Uh… okay." Izzy carefully untied the mask. His cheeks were red. It was obvious he was nervous, and without the mask his emotions were easy to see.

"You haven't done this before, have you?" Chris asked again.

"No. I haven't." Izzy replied. Tai was at a loss as to what it was they were supposed to be doing.

"Maybe that's all the better. It beats all the stuffy psychologists they keep throwing at me." Chris grumbled.

This seemed to cheer Izzy up a bit. "I'm sure they mean well."

"I don't." Chris replied sarcastically.

More silence.

"So, what has Sora shared with you about me?" Izzy went on.

"Not much. Just that you were like me, and that you might understand better than she or Matt could about my situation. Oh, and she said you were really smart, but she said to not let that intimidate me." Chris gave a weak smile. His bruised face looked painful in that expression.

"I'll do my best to not be intimidating." Izzy giggled.

"So is he your boyfriend?" Chris pointed at Tai.

"Ugh…." Tai made a spluttering, guttural sound.

"No! Uh… no. He's just a good friend. In fact, one of my best friends." Izzy was so red in the face his cheeks matched his hair color.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to presume." Chris was silent again.

"It's okay. The truth is, I brought Tai with me because there's something I haven't told him. Something I shouldn't have been so afraid to share with him." Izzy timidly looked over at Taichi.

"Hey Tai, you probably already guessed by now, but I want to tell you. I'm gay." Koushirou's voice didn't shake, but Tai could tell it was very hard to get the words out.

"Yes. I know. Gato… uh, I mean, Kari's friend told me." Tai whispered back. Not sure if this was the right time to talk about this.

"She did?" Izzy looked genuinely surprised.

"Uh… yeah. About that, I'm sorry for what I said the other night." Tai's face flushed. It was SO awkward apologizing to his friend in front of Chris Fairway.

"It's okay. I'm glad you know." Koushirou smiled back in full sincerity.

"Thanks." Tai couldn't think of what else to say. Well, now he knew. And Izzy was still his friend. It felt better to know Izzy wasn't mad at him.

There was another silence, but a much less unfriendly one. Tai suddenly had an idea. "Hey, I'm going to go have a talk with Matt and Sora, if that's okay. Want anything from the cafeteria?" Tai asked Izzy and Chris.

"No, I'm good." Izzy declined.

"I'm not hungry." Chris replied in a depressing tone.

Tai was itching to leave. He couldn't hold still for very long, and regardless of the rare occasion to be meeting a local icon in person, things seemed awkward enough. Plus he wanted to confront Sora about Izzy. She must have known he was gay all along. That's why she got so mad about his stupid rant the other day at lunch. He wasn't just making fun of a faceless minority; he was making fun of Izzy.

_**[Yey! This chapter was fun to write. Thanks to all of you who've made it this far. I'll try and have the next part up soon. Please Review!]**_


	6. Out in the Open

_**[Another Update! Here's Chapter 6. Please take note this story is about a boy/boy relationship and I do not own "Digimon". To my AWESOME followers, know that your reviews are greatly appreciated. ]**_

Tai headed for the elevator, trying to forget the haunted expression on Chris' face. His head felt fuzzy from recent events and the familiarity of the situation: feeling like garbage in a hospital was becoming too frequent an occurrence. So Taichi directed his feelings into what felt most normal. He was angry. But he wasn't sure what he was angry about.

Sora knew about Izzy, and presumably, so did Matt. Who else knew? Judging from Kari's display of temper the other night Tai guessed she knew. Was he angry about being kept in the dark? Maybe. He wanted to let it out. Maybe yelling at Sora or Matt would make him feel better.

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Tai made it to the cafeteria without too much trouble. He'd been there before, after all, years ago. He was trying to work up a good argument. His ill-formed anger toppled, however, upon finding his friends cuddled together at a table in the back.

It was one of those perfect romantic moments you see in movies or read about but never see. Matt and Sora were supporting each other, their backs to Tai. Sora had her head on Matt's shoulder, their hands clasped, fingers intertwined in the space between them. Tai felt ice in his stomach.

He turned and exited the cafeteria before they had a chance to notice he was there. Tai wasn't sure where he was headed, but he wanted to get as far away as possible from what he'd just seen. He found the elevator and headed to a random floor.

He'd had a crush on Sora since they played soccer together. Sora was just as tough as any of the boys, but also smart and patient. He thought he was over her being in a relationship with Matt. He valued their friendship, but sometimes kind of took it for granted. Seeing the two of them together just brought out more feelings of pain and hurt that Tai had a hard time putting names to.

Eventually, Taichi's anger returned and this time in full force. Finding himself in some kind of waiting room, Tai sat down and tried to work out what to think. Izzy had said something about being afraid to tell Tai about him being gay. Tai realized he wasn't really mad at Sora or Matt, but at himself for being the kind of friend anyone would have to fear. It hurt. It hurt even more so because Tai knew he deserved it. He felt dirty and mean. He knew then that he needed to apologize for real this time.

So Tai left the waiting room and went in search of the elevators again.

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"…It didn't seem real." Chris said, his voice still rather raspy. "The press can make a story out of anything, you know. I wanted it to blow over fast, for people to forget."

"It didn't?" Koushirou's voice this time, timid but sincere.

Tai made it back to Chris' room, but something kept him from barging in on the conversation. He knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help it. He waited just outside the door listening.

"No one seemed to care at first. The other guys joked about it, but nothing was out of the ordinary. I thought maybe they would be okay with it if I just came out, you know. I wasn't ready, though. I was still too scared, I guess."

A pause, maybe just so Chris could take a breath.

"Then one night after we had a few drinks, Richey got kind of drunk. He went on this rant about the press, right, how they were such pests. It felt like maybe he was trying to back me up. I thought, maybe he didn't mind even if the rumors were true." Chris kind of got choked-up.

"It's okay." Koushirou seemed to trying to coax Chris to continue.

"He laughed at me. I don't think he believed me when I told him." Chris finally got out. His voice was full of feeling, but grew ever softer.

"He avoided me after that. A couple days later at practice I tried to talk to him about it, but he ignored me completely. Our manager was furious. But I couldn't tell him, couldn't tell anyone else…."

Another pause.

"I knew something was different when I went in for practice the last time. No one looked me in the eye. He'd told them... that son of a bitch…"

Tai didn't need a translator this time. Chris' bitter whispers weren't hard to understand. The pause was longer this time. Chris sniffled a couple times.

"I didn't have the luxury to stay silent any more. Their obvious disapproval was affecting our music. I couldn't concentrate. During practice… Richey… he… he finally got mad enough at me for the mistakes I was making that he…"

Tai couldn't make out the next few words as Chris was obviously holding back tears as he spoke. Koushirou hushed comfortingly. It wasn't hard to imagine how horrible it must have been to be betrayed like that.

"They didn't do anything!" Chris voice was angry now and much louder. "He went for another punch and they just sat there!"

"…It's okay." Koushirou was sniffling now too.

"Everything was over at that point. I'd worked so hard, and everything was over!" Chris cried out.

Tai felt sick to his stomach. He forgot where he was for a moment, remembering what Sora had said Chris had done after that.

"I'm so, so sorry." Izzy whispered. "But it isn't over. I can promise you that much. It might have felt like it, but it isn't over."

Chris seemed to get back in control again after a minute.

"Thanks." Tai could tell Chris didn't just mean for what Izzy had just said, but for listening to the story too.

"No problem." Izzy's voice was muffled, almost like he'd put his facemask back on.

"I just don't know what to do next. If it isn't over, where do I go from here?" Chris' question hung in the air unanswered.

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Sora and Matt arrived shortly afterwards, Tai somehow managed to make it look like he'd arrived with them. Visiting hours were nearly over, so they headed out again after a few pleasantries and promises from Izzy that he'd be back tomorrow.

"See you tomorrow!" Matt gave Sora a quick peck on the cheek and hopped into his convertible. Sora winked, waved and blushed all at the same time.

While waiting for the train Sora confronted Izzy. "How'd it go?"

"Good… I think." Izzy seemed much more at ease leaving the hospital than he had earlier.

Tai felt like a third wheel. He still hadn't plucked up the courage to apologize to Koushirou properly. Not in front or Sora at least.

"How about for you?" Izzy seemed to force himself to look over at Tai.

"Uh… yeah. Good." Tai mentally slapped himself.

"Good." Sora tried to lighten the mood. "It was nice of you to agree to come back tomorrow. Matt and I really appreciate you stopping in, Izzy."

"Sure…" Izzy blushed. "So, uh… what were you guys up to?"

"Matt and I ate rubbery lasagna in the cafeteria." And with that the train arrived.

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Taichi felt Izzy's eyes on him all the way back on the train. He tried to ignore it. He looked at the other people on the train. He looked out the window at the dark and dreary landscape. He looked at the floor and was distracted for a moment at how filthy it was. At last, their stop arrived and Tai was eager to be off the train and out of his friend's penetrating gaze.

"Tai, I think I left a notebook at your place. Do you mind if I head back with you and pick it up on the way home?" Izzy asked, trying to sound casual.

"Uh… sure." Tai smiled back.

"Thanks."

Sora headed off to her place with a wave, and pretty soon it was just Tai and Izzy silently trekking up the stairs to the apartment. Tai kept trying to figure out how to word his apology. It was now or never, he just had to say it…

"So what were you up to at the hospital?" Izzy asked all of the sudden.

"What do you mean?" Tai tried to chuckle. He was a bad liar.

"You didn't share rubbery lasagna with Sora and Matt." Izzy was too smart for his own good.

"No… I guess I didn't." Tai debated on telling him the truth.

"Not getting into trouble, were we?" Izzy smiled back.

"No! What are you talking about?" Tai feigned disbelief. It was nice to joke like this, almost like everything was just like it used to be.

"Okay. I'll believe you this time." Izzy giggled.

"Hey Izzy… I never really get to say this before, but I'm sorry." Tai finally got out.

"For what?" Izzy looked back with his big, dark eyes.

"For… everything! I'm sorry I was such a jerk the other night. I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me about being… you know." Tai somehow couldn't say it.

"Chris couldn't say it either. I guess it's normal to pass the stigma onto the word itself, but really there isn't anything to be afraid of, Tai. You can say it." Izzy said.

"Okay… about you being… gay." Tai managed softly.

"There now, that wasn't hard." Izzy smiled. "Its okay Tai. I'm sorry for being so afraid. I should have more trust in you."

Tai couldn't respond. All he could think of was how Chris had trusted his secret with a friend only to be burned, burned so bad, he felt the only escape was jumping off a bridge. What if that had been Izzy?

"I'm happy you know, now." Izzy finally broke the silence. They had made it to the apartment now. They were just standing outside waiting for the right moment to go inside.

"Does everyone else know?" Tai had to know. Izzy understood what Tai meant by everyone else.

"Pretty much. Joe knew first, then Mimi and Sora. I've never really told Takeru or Hikari, but I'm pretty sure they know."

"And kids at school?" Tai continued.

"I don't care much if they do or don't really." Izzy said wisely.

Tai's mom stuck her head out the door. "I thought I heard voices. Izzy! So good to see you. Come on in, boys."

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Mrs. Kamiya insisted that it was much too late for Izzy to go all the way back to his house that night so she arranged for Koushirou to have the couch. Kari was in bed already, having had a tough day in the Digital World it seems. After some quick leftovers for dinner, most of which Izzy poked at incredulously, everyone else went off to bed.

Tai wasn't sure how to feel about having Izzy spend the night. It had happened many times before. He kept trying to tell himself that nothing was really different. Tai found himself unconsciously watching Izzy anyway, searching for something.

"Tai you're making me nervous. I'm just brushing my teeth." Koushirou finally spat out.

"Oh… sorry." Tai blushed. Nothing was different.

Nothing, that was, except Tai.

_**[Woot! So I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. Please review, and look forward to the next chapter soon! ]**_


	7. Learning about Smores

_**[Wow, look at me go! This is probably the earliest I've updated ever. Take note this story is about a boy/boy relationship and I do not own "Digimon". Please review! ]**_

_Tai was walking through the hall at school. He was excited for soccer practice. Everything seemed normal. Tai waved to one of his teammates. They seemed to not notice him. He tapped them on the shoulder. They walked the other way._

_ Feeling a little hurt, Tai try to brush it off and kept walking to his locker. Everyone started giving him funny looks. Two girls gossiping in the corner stopped and stared. Pretty soon everyone was in the hall, but they kept their distance. Tai saw his Mom and Hikari standing by the Gym doors. Matt and Sora were walking towards him from the other end of the hall. They were holding hands and laughing._

_ Tai looked down at himself, worried he had somehow forgot his clothes, or maybe he had stepped in something gross. Everything shifted. Tai seemed to be at a party. He was on the dance floor. Everyone was laughing. Tai looked around to see what was so funny. Suddenly the spotlight glared in his face and he realized everyone was looking at him. Feeling scared and embarrassed Tai fled - only to find that the door led out into space._

_ Tai stood in the doorway looking down into what seemed like a busy street. It was dark, so all he could make out was the headlights as they flew past. The noise and stench of hundreds of vehicles became overwhelming. Suddenly, Tai felt someone push him forward into the blackness._

Tai woke with a start…

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Tai blearily walked to the lunchroom. It was hard enough getting up that morning he was still half asleep. School seemed like such an evil today. He'd been scolded for not paying attention twice already. Tai couldn't help it. His mind was elsewhere.

"Hey, practice this afternoon. You coming?" Tai looked up to see Yuki, one of his teammates. It just happened to be the same teammate in Taichi's dream from that night.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Tai mumbled out.

"You look like a zombie, dude. Better get your game face on by 3." Yuki did some mock punches, smiling like an idiot.

"Yuki! Yuki!" Miya called from across the room. Yuki and Miya were kind of the _it_ couple recently. She walked up to meet them.

"Hey, princess. You coming to practice this afternoon?" Yuki threw more fake punches in her direction.

"You bet! Tai, tell Sora, okay?" Miya took Yuki by the hand and headed out.

"Uh… sure." Tai looked back at them as they walked away. They seemed so happy and carefree.

Tai looked around for Sora. She wasn't in her normal place at their table. Tai got his food and sat down, hoping she was just running late. Matt rarely ate lunch at school, too busy with his band. Plus, the female classmates swarmed down like locusts. Occasionally he took Sora out with him. After a while, Tai assumed this must be the case as he didn't see either of them since that morning.

"This seat taken?" It was Izzy.

"No, go ahead." Tai looked up from his meal. He'd hardly touched his food.

"You know your lunch break ends in five minutes, right?" Koushirou sat down next to Tai.

"Really? I guess I fell asleep or something." Tai mumbled.

"Rough night?" Izzy went home before Tai was even awake that morning to get ready for school. _(They discovered the missing notebook under the living room couch.)_

"I guess." Tai didn't know if he wanted to talk about it.

"You going to Chem today?" Izzy looked at his watch.

"No. I'm going to skip." Tai looked down at his food again. It didn't seem very appealing. Izzy gave him a stern look. He didn't approve of skipping. Tai ignored him.

"How's the Trig going?" Izzy asked.

"Nmph." Was all Tai could muster up for a reply.

"That good, huh?" Koushirou laughed.

"Ms. Yamiko hasn't bugged me about it, but I'm still not passing." Tai grumbled.

There was silence for a minute. The bell rang for those with early lunch to head back to class. Neither Tai nor Izzy moved.

"Want to study later?" Izzy offered.

"I thought you said you weren't going to tutor me anymore." Tai looked back at his friend skeptically.

"I got over it." Izzy said, shrugging.

"I can't today." Tai remembered practice. "Soccer practice. I was supposed to tell Sora, but I haven't seen her."

"Ok. I can't today either, heading back to the hospital, but this weekend maybe." Koushirou unwrapped more of his lunch. He was lucky, his mom made his lunch almost every day, so he didn't have to eat school food.

"Hmmm. School food." Tai giggled.

"What?" Izzy looked up, confused.

"I promised Agumon some school food. I guess I could take him this." Tai gestured to his tray.

"Now?" Izzy squeaked. "It's the middle of school."

"Oh, come on. I bet you've ditched class for the Digital World before." Tai tried to give Izzy _the eye_. He just looked like he was squinting.

"Maybe." Izzy blushed. "Your digivice won't open the gate, Tai. You'll have to wait for Kari or one of the others."

"Bad excuse. I know you can find away around that." Tai nudged Izzy in the ribs.

Izzy didn't give an immediate response. He didn't look at Tai.

"Let me finish my lunch first, at least." Izzy mumbled this time.

"Awesome! You're the MAN." Taichi got up from the table. He immediately thought better of his words. Was that an appropriate thing to say? "Uh… I mean…"

Izzy rolled his eyes.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

"School food!" Agumon was delighted to have company, and even more excited to eat up Tai's meager offering.

"I'll be back in a couple hours when class gets over. Don't go anywhere." Izzy spoke through the monitor back in the real world.

"Oh, don't worry so much. I'm sure you can find me again without too much trouble. I have my digivice with me." Tai was engrossed in admiring Agumon devour everything on the tray.

"I'm more worried about something else finding you. Just don't do anything reckless, okay?" Koushirou didn't wait for an answer. The screen went black.

"More?" Agumon was licking his claws.

"Sorry, buddy. That's all this time." Tai smiled.

"Hey, can I go home with you today?" Agumon jumped up and down.

"Maybe I can get Kari to bring you back later. I'm here from school." Tai tried to explain.

"I can't go to school?" Agumon looked sad.

"You don't want to anyway, trust me." Taichi patted Agumon's head.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Ignoring Koushirou's warning, Tai and Agumon walked all over the area admiring the local Gekomon huts, splashing in a stream, and rolling in the grass.

"I miss it here." Tai lay in a meadow with Agumon looking up at the trees.

"Then stay." Agumon said.

"I have soccer practice. They other guys would be mad if I skipped that too." Tai said. He rolled over to look at his partner digimon. Agumon was probably lonely. "Tell you what. Tonight, we'll eat smores and camp in the livingroom."

"Yummy!" Agumon smiled his big toothy grin.

Taichi didn't feel like soccer practice. Usually, he couldn't wait to get on the field and spend time in the sun running plays. Something wouldn't leave him alone. It tickled the back of his mind, but never came to the surface.

"You look funny." Agumon said after a moment.

Tai laughed. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Want to talk about it?" Agumon asked.

Tai wasn't sure if Agumon would understand. The whole concept of gender was over the poor monster's head anyway. Sexuality and suicide seemed like a pretty far chance.

"I have a friend that's going through some stuff. I'm worried about them, that's all." Tai managed.

"Are they hurt?" Agumon understood pain at least.

"Sorta. It's more like a hurt on the inside though." Tai pointed to the orange dinosaurs chest.

"Like when you get super hungry?" Agumon looked sympathetic.

Tai giggled. "Not quite. More like when you feel really sad."

"Do I know them? Can I help make them better?" Agumon asked.

"No, you don't know them. They'd probably freak if they saw you, but thanks for offering, little guy." Tai consoled his partner. "Its more like Izzy and Sora's friend than mine. I don't think I can help either. I guess that's why I'm so worried."

"What made them so sad?" Agumon rolled over onto his belly.

"I guess its how other people treated him. See, he's kind of different from other people." Tai could tell this conversation was going to get complicated.

"Like he has big teeth, or strange colored fur?" Agumon fluffed Tai's own mass of brown _fur_.

"Kind of, I guess. But this isn't a difference you can see. Remember when I told you boys and girls were good kinds together?" Tai took the leap.

"Yes. You said there were only the two kinds." Agumon repeated faithfully.

"Right. Well normally, guys fall in love with girls, and girls with guys. This friend is a boy, but he likes other boys instead." Tai wondered if Agumon even understood what kind of love he meant.

"Like how Sora likes Matt?" Agumon blurted.

"Exactly! And lots of people… myself included, I guess, find that kind of strange." Tai scowled. Explaining homosexuality to a digital monster wasn't easy.

"Why?" Agumon innocently inquired.

"Uh… I'm not sure. I guess we just aren't used to it." Tai was a lot loss.

"But Izzy is…. I mean… You should be used to it." Agumon covered his mouth.

"How do _you_ know about Izzy?" Tai sat up.

"Uh… I'm not allowed to say." Agumon's voice was muffled. He didn't move his claws from covering his mouth.

"Did Kari talk to you?" Tai's anger about being kept in the dark crept back up.

"… I'm not allowed to say." Agumon looked a little frightened.

"Well, what _are_ you allowed to say?" Tai sneered.

"Uh… let me think about it." Tai could almost see Agumon's little mind turning as fast as it could. "Izzy likes another boy. He told me not to say anything."

"When was this?" Tai felt kind of hurt.

"Back when we were fighting the Dark Masters."

"That was years ago! Tell me! Tell me!" Tai felt a little better. He started tickling his partner digimon, trying to force the information out of him.

"No! Can't… promised I… wouldn't… he he he… tell… you." Agumon spluttered.

"Promised not to tell me? Me specifically, or anyone?" Tai had a sinking feeling.

Agumon seemed to realize his goof. His eyes grew wide.

"Damn." Was all Tai could think to say.

Tai's digivice started beeping. It was time to go back to the real world, or he'd be late for practice. Tai promised to send Kari after Agumon later in the evening. They rushed back to the monitor.

"There you are! Hurry up and come through, you'll be late." Izzy's voice was breathy, like he'd run to get to the computer lab.

"Don't let Izzy know you've told me anything." Tai whispered to Agumon.

"Ok." Agumon and Tai shared a brief hug. "Oh, and Tai? What's a smores?"

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Izzy was impatient it seemed. He didn't stay long at all after Tai came through to the real world. Taichi remembered he had promised to go to the hospital again.

"I'll see you later then." Koushirou shut down the computer and rushed off to catch the train

"Uh… sure." Tai wasn't sure how to process the new information Agumon had given him. He was somewhat happy to see Izzy was so preoccupied to not notice his unease.

Tai went to find his other friends on the soccer field. Maybe if he just played the game for a while he'd forget about everything else. He was _not_ going to think about Izzy. He was _not_ going to think about Chris Fairway. He was _not_ going to think about how chocolate smores might not be very good for small orange dinosaurs.

_**[Another chapter! I really had no plan for this story when I started except I wanted to write how it would be like to explain homosexuality to Tai. I seriously love the guy, but he's not super bright. It has morphed into something a lot bigger than I expected. I'm trying to take into account your thoughts in my reviews. Many thanks! ]**_


	8. Sibling Talk and a Suprise

_**[On to Chapter 8! Need more reviews! Please note this story is about a boy/boy relationship and I do not own "Digimon". ]**_

Soccer practice was cut short by unexpected rain. Normally, Tai relished heavy exercise in a rainstorm, but it was unseasonably cold and the rain wouldn't let up. Taichi waved to his teammates, signaling that he was heading home. They were short a few players anyhow, not just Sora, who was still missing in action.

Tai was soaked to the bone. He didn't have an umbrella either. So he took the shortest route to his apartment building. Upon arrival, his mom directed him straight into the washroom to warm-up and change into dry clothes. Kari wasn't home yet, but that was expected. If worse came to worse Kari could always get Miyako to transfer the gate opening to send them straight home anyway.

The warm water felt really good. Tai soaked it in…

"Kari's back." Tai's mom knocked on the door. "She brought Agumon."

Tai remembered his promise of smores and camping. He just hoped they had enough marshmallows for his partner's monstrous appetite.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

"The news report says its remnants of a typhoon." Kari and Gatomon were perfectly dry, curled-up on the living room sofa. As Tai had thought, they must have taken the non-conventional way home.

"It rained us out at practice. I'm not surprised." Tai looked around for Agumon. The dinosaur was eying their mother as she made dinner in the kitchen.

The phone rang.

"Tai, can you get that?" Mrs. Kamiya called, obviously not ready to abandon the half-prepared meal given her current company.

"Hello?" Tai answered.

"Tai? This is Mrs. Izumi. Is Koushirou at your place? I can't seem to reach his cell." She sounded a little concerned.

"Sorry, no. He said he went to visit someone at the hospital this afternoon. But he shouldn't be too long." Taichi replied.

"Oh, okay. If you hear from him please tell him to be careful. The rain has flooded some roads east of here." Mrs. Izumi sounded relieved. The hospital was a pretty safe place, apparently.

"Will do!" Tai chirped back.

"Thanks, Tai. Goodbye!" And with that Mrs. Izumi hung up.

"Who was it, Tai?" His mom called from the kitchen.

"Izzy's mom. His cell must be turned off." Tai didn't think much more of it.

"Dinner will be ready in a minute, go wash up!"

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

After a good meal, special microwave smores, and popcorn, Tai and Kari spread out their old sleeping bags on the living room floor. Gatomon wasn't interested in pretending to camp, so she left to go take a nap on Tai's unoccupied bed. Agumon was already asleep after thoroughly enjoying the sticky marshmallow goodness that is smores. Tai went easy on the chocolate, just in case.

"So what's Izzy up to?" Hikari asked as she snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag. They decided to go to bed a little early as the weather still hadn't let up and it remained dark and gloomy.

Tai unzipped his own bag and slipped inside. "Uh… he's visiting a friend. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you more than that." Seeing as the news of CRUSH disbanding and the reasons behind Chris Fairway's hospitalization weren't made public yet, Tai thought it best to leave out the details.

"Do I know this friend?" Hikari looked concerned.

"Yes… uh, no. Well, not personally." Tai made a face.

"Should I be worried?" Kari smiled.

"No." Tai laughed. "I think everything will work out okay."

"Izzy seemed happier when he left the other morning." Kari gave Tai a funny look. "You two getting along better these days?" It was obvious, even to Tai, what she really meant.

"Yes. We're still friends. I was being stupid." Tai didn't want to talk about it.

"Good." Kari winked back.

The rain picked-up again, hitting the large living room window. The two siblings sat in peaceful silence for a little while.

"You didn't tell Agumon about Izzy, did you?" Tai said after a moment.

"What?" Kari looked bemused. Agumon was snoring softly on the couch.

"I sorta skipped out on class today to get away from things. Agumon and I got talking, and he already knew about Izzy. He was rather vague about it, but he already knew Izzy was… you know." Tai found he still couldn't say it.

"Nope. I didn't tell him." Kari smiled. "And you _can_ say it out loud, Tai."

"Sorry. Izzy said the same thing." Tai wasn't sure how to feel about using the dreaded word in normal conversation yet.

More silence. Kari was pretty much the coolest little sister ever. She was patient, kind, and most importantly, didn't force Tai to move faster than he was able.

"So how did you find out?" Tai asked after a few moments.

"About Izzy?" Kari seemed to think about it for a moment. "I'm not sure. I think I've always known."

"And where you always okay with it?" Tai whispered. It seemed like a hard thing to say. Kari understood, though.

"I love Izzy, so of course I'd love anyone he fell in love with, regardless of gender. Everything else, frankly, isn't any of my business." Tai understood what Kari meant by _everything else_.

"That's pretty smart. Wish it was that easy for me to understand." Tai mumbled back. "But what if he changes into… someone else. Or gets sick? Or someone hurts him?" Tai felt ill.

"Sounds like you're really worried about this, huh?" Hikari replied.

"Izzy's one of my good friends. Possibly my _best_ friend." Tai resolved.

"Did you tell Izzy that?" Kari yawned.

Tai thought about that for a moment. "Agumon said something else today too. I'm worried about what it means. I'm worried that if I say the wrong thing…" Tai couldn't finish.

"What did Agumon say?" Hikari brightened up again. Her sudden interest didn't bode well.

"He said Izzy didn't want me to find out… that he liked another guy." Tai tried to make it sound ambiguous. "Like me, specifically."

"And? I'm not following you." Kari looked back at her brother, her eyes wide.

"If Izzy likes… _me_. What do I do?" Tai finally blurted out.

Hikari was quiet for a moment, seeming to process Tai's question. "I think you should talk to Izzy." Kari snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag. "I'm getting sleepy. Goodnight, Tai."

Tai attempted to give Kari _the eye_, even though he knew she couldn't see it. He thought she might say that. He doubted he would get much sleep.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

The rain hadn't let up fully that morning either. It was finally the weekend, however, so Tai was determined to enjoy it anyway. After putting away his and Kari's sleeping bags and stuffing his orange monster with breakfast cereal, he decided he wanted to go for a walk.

"Don't get washed away out there!" Tai's mom said, handing him an umbrella.

"I'll be fine, mom." Tai gave her a peck on the cheek.

Tai had some serious thinking to do. He left Agumon to play _Go Fish!_ with Gatomon and Kari and headed out the door. Tai had Koushirou anxiety. He knew his feelings of unease wouldn't be resolved without talking to his friend, but he wasn't sure he was ready for _the talk_ just yet. Taichi was supposed to be full of courage, but somehow he felt it slip away when he imagined confronting a specific redheaded boy a whole head and shoulders shorter than himself.

Taking the opportunity the slight drizzle gave him; Tai started an imaginary conversation under his breath as he walked beneath his umbrella. There were few people about, and Tai was sure no one could hear him.

"So, uh, Izzy. Is there a guy you like?" _That sounded rather forward._

"Izzy, hey. So I was wondering, you and I are still just friends, right?" _Maybe adding the "just" in there was a bit much._

"Koushirou, man, so do you want to go out with anyone special?" _Ok, random._

Starting this conversation was going to be impossible. Taichi thought about what else might help. Both Kari and Izzy assured him it was okay to say it… that word.

Tai gulped. "Gay." No explosions. "Gay, gay, gay, gay, gay."

"So Izzy, you're gay. And that's okay! Just don't say…" Tai started rhyming. "Gay… gay… gay!" Feeling a bit more confidant, Tai headed back home.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

"There you are!" Kari held the telephone in her hand. "Just a minute, Tai just walked in." She didn't look pleased. "Izzy didn't go home last night."

"What?" Tai felt his stomach drop.

"It gets worse. The hospital said he didn't stop by yesterday. Chris… Chris hasn't seen him either." Apparently Tai's worry about spilling the beans wasn't justified. Kari somehow knew about Chris Fairway.

"Did they check the school?" Tai's first thought was that Izzy had somehow just forgot about the time and kept working on some stupid school project.

"It's all locked-up. Mrs. Izumi is heading there now with some teachers." Hikari went back to the phone. Agumon and Gatomon were perched on the couch in the living room looking flustered. "Yes… yes… we will… alright, bye."

Tai was still in panic mode, not sure what to ask first. "Matt? Sora? Has anyone told them?" Tai remembered he hadn't seen them in a while either.

"I don't know." Kari shook her head. "Mrs. Izumi said to just stay put for now. She'll call us when they know more."

"But he could be anywhere! What if he's hurt?" Taichi grabbed his coat.

"Don't." Kari pulled on Tai's arm. "I think… I might know where to look."

"Where?" Tai swung around.

"The Digital World."

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Kari sent Agumon with Tai through their father's old computer and promised to keep in touch via their digivices. In the meantime, she would see if she could get a hold of the rest of the digidestined there in the real world.

The Digital World was _huge_. If Izzy went there, there's no telling where he might be, or what kind of trouble he might be in…

_**[Did you see that coming? I didn't. lol. This was a lot of fun to write, even if it's a bit short. As always, I live for reviews! Look forward to the next chapter… ]**_


	9. Digital Revelations

_**[Ahoy, Chapter 9! We're moving right along with this story. Please note this story is about a boy/boy relationship and I do not own "Digimon". ]**_

"Graymon?" Taichi hesitantly asked.

"Rrrr. Tai?" Graymon's deep voice echoed through his body towards Tai, who was perched on his shoulder.

"What if Izzy isn't in the Digital World?" Tai and Graymon had been tromping around, hoping to see some sign of Izzy for almost an hour.

"Then they'll find him in the real world. Don't worry, Tai. Wherever he is, he can't stay hidden forever." Graymon sounded pretty confidant.

Tai tried to stay calm. It was likely Koushirou just got caught-up in the storm or forgot to tell his Mom about some overnight school trip; nothing to worry about. Izzy was going to be just fine. Everything was going to be just fine…

The expanse of forests, mountains, caves, and strange digital fields in between each one seemed endless. Tai was beginning to think their search was pointless.

_Beep… beep… beep…_

"Wha?" Tai grabbed his digivice. "Hey, I got a signal! It's gotta be him!"

"Which way?" Graymon stood still, waiting for directions.

"Straight ahead, and to the right a bit." Tai looked at the little red dot on the screen. It seemed to be moving. Graymon headed towards what looked like a huge desert. It would take a few minutes to get there, even at the rate of galloping giant dinosaur.

_Beep… beep beep… beep…_

Another red dot appeared. "Huh?" Tai looked down at his digivice, thinking it must be broken. Two red dots flickered on the screen, both on the move, headed towards him and Graymon.

"Uh… someone's with him." Tai called out to Graymon. "They're headed this way."

"There, in the sky!" Graymon stopped.

A familiar orange bird started it's decent. Its wingspan was enormous, and its tail seemed to be made of flames. Birdramon?

"Grahhhh!" Sora's partner came to a graceful landing. Sora, hopped off her digimon's giant claw.

"Tai? What are you doing here?" Sora looked confused.

"I could ask you the same question." Tai looked back down at his digivice. The second dot was catching-up to them fast. He looked out over the horizon.

Sure enough, a massive blue wolf came hurtling towards them, Yamato holding onto its back. Taichi was always envious of how Matt looked, sitting astride his bizarre mount, almost regal. Matt's face however, looked white and rather frightened.

"Tai, hey… uh, you haven't seen Izzy recently, have you?" Sora coughed.

"Was he with you? His mom is worried sick." Tai looked back to Sora, and a newly devolved Biyomon.

"Crap. I guess you're part of the search party then?" Sora whispered. Matt and Garurumon had arrived, Matt jumped off his partner's back and came running up to his friends. He wasn't alone. Tentomon flew down as well, looking rather motion sick.

"Where is he?" Matt asked Tai urgently. Tai didn't even wonder who Matt meant.

"I don't know. I thought, when I saw your signal…" Tai thought for a second. "Wait, where have you guys been? How do you know Izzy's missing?"

Matt put his face in his hands. "I should never have asked him to talk with Chris." Sora went over to comfort him.

"Ohhh…oh… I don't feel so good." Tentomon grumbled.

"Wait, wait, wait. What is it?" Tai became even more worried.

Sora looked to Matt, almost like she was asking for permission. "It's complicated." Garurumon devolved into Gabumon, and the small group headed over to Tai and a newly devolved Agumon.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

"Matt and Chris went out a few weeks ago, just for business talk. Matt hoped to secure a promotional spot at CRUSH's upcoming concert. It would be big for Matt's band. Chris was great. He said he would help make arrangements for Matt to meet some of their agents. Matt and Chris became friends." Sora sat down on the ground. Matt and Tai followed. Apparently there was a lot to tell. "A couple nights later, Chris invited Matt out to dinner. We assumed it would be another business meeting."

Sora looked to Matt. "Its my fault. I didn't realize." Matt picked-up where Sora left off. "Chris wasn't out yet, but I had the feeling he might be gay. Chris had no ill intentions, it was what might be considered a very bashful first date." Matt smiled rather gloomily.

"The media had a field day! Nothing happened, but the damage was done. Some photographer caught a couple pictures of Matt and Chris together and they just had to make it a story." Sora spat.

"But your not…" Tai pointed at Matt inquisitively.

"No." Matt laughed. "No, I'm not gay." He smiled at Sora.

"The point is, Matt feels somewhat responsible to Chris for inadvertently outing him. That's why… when everything went badly, we decided to ask Izzy for help." Sora finished.

"Why Izzy? And how does this have anything to do with why we can't find him?" Tai couldn't make the connection.

"Well, Koushirou was so… I dunno, brave about it all." Sora said.

"There's no getting around it, Sora. We'll have to tell him." Matt whispered.

Sora pouted. "Its not really for us to tell."

"I think Koushirou's safety is more important than a little embarrassment." Matt rebutted.

"Tell me what?" Tai looked back and forth between his two friends.

The digimon, by this point, had lost interest. They were concerned about Izzy, of course, but human talk was rather dull. They were having a conversation all their own about things they better understood further away.*

Matt sighed. "Izzy's been in love with you for a long time, Tai."

Tai just sat there, not sure what to think. He couldn't form words, but his mouth hung open anyway.

"He was always so careful to make sure you didn't find out. Not that you would, really. You're a little too dense." Sora added playfully, ruffling Tai's hair.

"He…. he, what?" Tai tried to make out.

"A couple years ago, after all the Digital World stuff seemed almost like a dream to some of us, Koushirou came out to both of us." Matt continued.

"I probably had the hardest time out of anyone about it." Sora smiled fondly. "But Izzy straightened me out."

"And my dad, being who he is, well, lets just say I didn't have a problem with it." Matt winked at Tai.

"Your dad… is… ?" Tai couldn't form the word, despite his practice earlier.

"Yup. But don't tell him I told you." Matt held his finger to his lips.

"Koushirou was so confidant. He seemed so at peace with being different. Only later did we really understand how hard it must have been for him. He has great parent's that guy – so loving!" Sora smiled again.

"After a while we realized, just in little things, that Izzy had a crush on you. He stuck by you, even when the rest of us had moved on with our own lives. But after Diaboromon, it was kinda obvious. We subtly let Izzy know we were okay with it, and we were there for him if he needed us."

"He confessed, but made us promise not to tell you. He could tell you didn't feel the same way, so he decided to be your friend, Tai. Even if you never realized his feelings for you, he was willing to be there for you anyway." Sora sniffled.

"But I…. I mean, why?" Tai felt hurt again. He felt stupid, and very much in the dark.

"You'll have to ask Izzy that, if we ever find him." Matt grumbled. His serious tone did nothing for their current mood.

"Oh, hush." Sora gave Matt _the eye_. Tai was rather satisfied to see he wasn't the only one she gave that look to.

"So why are you in the Digital World?" Tai remembered what they were there for. He could process the other details later.

"We went to the hospital yesterday, to visit Chris. Chris was still waiting for Izzy to arrive, but visiting hours were nearly over. Matt tried calling Izzy's cell to find out what the hold up was. He's not one to usually be late…" Sora looked grave.

"All I could think about was how it might hurt Chris to have Koushirou bail on him. I won't deny it. I rather hoped they'd like each other. They are both such great guys, they deserve to be happy." Matt said in a low voice.

Tai felt pain in his chest. He was a little angry at Matt for playing matchmaker with his best friend.

"There was no answer. The phone, rang, and rang, and rang. I guess I couldn't get Chris' suicide attempt out of my head. I was worried my request for Izzy to talk with Chris had given him ideas. I was so stupid… thinking only about the mess I caused, trying to make it right… what if I'd just made it worse?" Matt crumpled. He put his head in his hands again.

That's when the full weight of what _wasn't_ being said donned on Tai. Izzy could be hurt, by another's hand, or his own. He could be lost… he could be…

"After apologizing to Chris for Izzy's absence, we decided to go look for him. We called his house first, and he wasn't there. But we didn't want to create undue panic." Sora explained.

"Mrs. Izumi called my house, to see if he was there." Tai recalled. How stupid! He was missing, even then, and Tai had ignored it.

"Matt and I backtracked the route to the hospital and school. We even asked if they had any mystery patients arrive, just in case." Sora choked up.

Tai could figure out the rest. "You've been out all night, haven't you?"

"I told my Mom I was with friends. Which was true," Sora glanced at Matt, "but the slumber party was an exaggeration."

Taichi hadn't noticed before, but both Sora and Matt had faint dark circles under their eyes. They looked rather wind blown and their shoes were very muddy.

"As usual." Tai sighed. "You guys are so dumb!"

Matt and Sora looked up, surprised. The digimon looked over as well.

"None of this is your fault! Why are you taking this all on yourselves? There are other people who care about Izzy, too, you know!" Tai glared. He got up, dusting the sand off his clothes.

"But what if he's…" Matt began.

"No… Tai's right." Sora interrupted. "We should have told someone."

"Damn right!" Tai was furious.

"What more do you know?" Matt asked.

"Mrs. Izumi went to the school with some teachers, but he wasn't there. Kari's rounding-up the other digidestined, trying to form a search party. She sent me here to look around. I haven't heard from her in a while." Tai looked around for something familiar. It was time they returned to the real world. There was a monitor a half-mile or so to the right, on the edge of the desert. Tai pointed towards it and started walking.

"So, Matt. What did you tell your Dad?" Tai asked. He was trying not to stay mad at his friends, seeing as they were trying to help, after all.

"What?" Yamato looked back, confused.

"Don't tell me you were gone all night without telling him where you were too!" Tai could have cursed again. If they had more than one group of frantic parents to deal with back home, he didn't know if he could handle it.

"He's probably still asleep. He gets home really late from work, I don't see him much." Matt sounded rather offended.

"First things first. As soon as we're through, call your Dad. We don't need more than one missing person." Tai tried giving Matt _the eye_. Based on Matt's reaction, Tai felt he got it right that time.

"Izzy… where _are_ you?" Sora said under her breath.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

***OMAKE – The Digimon's Conversation**

"Tentomon, you look kinda green." Agumon pointed out.

"I should have gone with Sor… hic… uhhhh." Tentomon staggered.

"I could've carried both you and Sora, no problem." Biyomon chimed in.

"Why didn't you just fly?" Agumon asked.

"I couldn't keep up with them in this stage, and Izzy isn't around for me to digivolve." Tentomon sat down, which seemed to help.

"Why is Izzy hiding anyway?" Biyomon asked.

"Koushirou isn't hiding. Matt said something like he was missing." Tentomon replied.

"They're pretty worried about him." Agumon added, looking over at his human friends.

"Maybe he's been recycled?" Biyomon was about as smart as Agumon.

"Human's don't have their organic material reconfigured into a previous stage of life like us digimon. Izzy said they decay into basic components and become new life forms altogether." Tentomon related.

"So he could be a new human now?" Agumon tried to imagine Izzy not being Izzy anymore. It was hard.

"I guess. Humans are such odd creatures." Tentomon looked sad. "I don't want a new human, though. I want Izzy!"

"Sora said we were looking for him, so he must still be himself." Biyomon's logic seemed a little hollow.

"I saw him yesterday, and he was still Izzy." Agumon tried to comfort Tentomon.

"I haven't seen him since yesterday either." Tentomon complained.

"What? You saw him yesterday too?" Agumon seemed interested.

"Yeah. He came by my little tree house with the other Motimon during something called Calculus." Tentomon said.

"Tai gave me school food! It was yummy." Agumon had a dreamy expression on his face for a moment. "Izzy was on the monitor, helping Tai come through for a visit. Maybe he went through after Tai?"

"I guess so." Tentomon shrugged. "Izzy didn't stay long, but I didn't see Tai."

"Awww… I wish Sora would visit more often. The Yokomon village finally made a hut big enough for humans." Biyomon chimed in.

_"You guys are so dumb!"_ Tai's angry shouts were hard to ignore.

"Uh, oh. Taichi seems angry about something." Tentomon observed.

"Sora's not dumb!" Biyomon seemed put out.

"I don't think he meant it like that, B." Agumon didn't want to see his friends fight. Matt and Tai used to fight all the time, after all.

"Hey, they're moving. We should probably follow." Tentomon pointed to the small band of friends.

"Wait-up! We're coming too!" Agumon called after them.

_**[Next chapter will probably be the last! Please leave a review! Thanks to everyone who has made it this far. See you soon! ]**_


	10. End to the Searching

_**[Here it is! Final chapter for Trigonometry Hearts. Please note this story is about a boy/boy relationship and I do not own "Digimon". ]**_

Taichi, Yamato, and Sora stepped through to the real world, their digimon not far behind. At first, Tai just stood in place. _Where were they?_

"Ouch! Hey, Tai, what's the holdup?" Sora and Matt ran into Tai's back. The three friends nearly fell to the hard floor.

"Ms. Ya… yamiko?" Tai felt a chill go down his spine.

"Hi Tai, …Sora." Ms. Yamiko sat at the front of the computer lab sipping what looked like coffee.

"School food!" Agumon sniffed the air.

And so it was. Tai looked around in wonderment at the familiar, but unexpected surroundings. Matt and Sora did the same.

Sora seemed to try and make an excuse. "Uh… Ms. Yamiko… we were just…" But she couldn't seem to think of something fast enough. They were at school, on a Saturday, with small colorful monsters.

"Its okay. You don't have to explain. However, you weren't who I was hoping to catch." Ms. Yamiko set her coffee down on the desk. Her composure was certainly commendable, seeing as a dinosaur was now sniffing around the corners of her desk. "Now I see why you know Koushirou."

"Uh…?" Tai and Matt said in unison.

"Oh, please." Ms. Yamiko rolled her eyes. "You didn't think everyone was oblivious to the existence of the Digital World."

Matt grabbed Sora's hand. He looked suspicious. Biyomon and Gabumon went into guard mode, just in case.

Ms. Yamiko just moved her coffee out of Agumon's reach in response.

"Wai… what?" _Ms. Yamiko knew about the Digital World?_ Tai was still reeling from not arriving at his own home from the digi-port.

"Gennai told me I might expect some activity here, so he told me to wait. I guess he was right." Ms. Yamiko sighed. "I suspect you haven't seen anything of Izzy either?"

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Apparently, after school officials received a very worried call from Mrs. Izumi, Ms. Yamiko and some other teachers accompanied Koushirou's mother to the school in search of the boy. Ms. Yamiko somehow knew about Izzy's otherworldly adventures and immediately suspected the Digital World. Having had her own digital experience, she maintained some connections, through which Gennai sent her a message.

Ms. Yamiko's explanation took no more than a few moments, but it took much longer for Taichi and the others to understand. "Gennai was rather vague, but as usual, his instructions were best followed. He told me Izzy's digivice was still active, so I didn't need to worry about him just yet, but that I should stay put at the school."

"How do _you_ know Gennai?" Tai still couldn't comprehend it.

"I imagine I met him the same way you did." Ms. Yamiko gave a sly smile, refusing to answer the question fully.

"You're one of the… I mean one of _us_, aren't you?" Matt said after a moment.

"I was once." Ms. Yamiko didn't look Matt in the eye when she replied. "My story didn't end quite as happily as yours."

Matt and Sora seemed to understand. Taichi, was still trying to connect his dreaded Trig teacher to the spooky, old Digital World guide.

"Gennai! Of course… why didn't we think of contacting him? He probably knows where Izzy went." Sora mentally kicked herself.

Tai seemed to come around again at the mention of Izzy. "Hey, I need to talk to Kari. She's gathering the others for a search party."

"I've got a cell. Here." Ms. Yamiko handed Tai a purple flip-phone. He only had a second to appreciate the irony of his teacher giving out her cell phone to a student on school grounds before dialing his home number.

"Hello? Kamiya residence." It was not the voice Tai had expected.

"Takeru? Hey, can you put my sister on?" Taichi grumbled.

"Tai!" TK's voice grew loud enough for the others to hear as well. "Thank heavens. We've been trying to reach you! Izzy's back! He made it home."

"Wha…?" Tai stared at the phone for a second. "Where is he? What happened?"

There was a muffling sound, like the phone was being traded to someone across the room. Sure enough, Kari's voice was heard next. "Tai?"

"Kari! What's going on?" Tai demanded.

"Its you! Good. Where are _you_?" Kari sounded flustered.

"Why does that matter!" Tai yelled at the phone now. "Where's Izzy? What's happened?"

"Calm down. Izzy's fine. I'll explain later. Can you make it home okay?" Kari asked simply.

"Of course I can make it home okay. I'm at school." Tai didn't go into detail.

"Izzy's coming over in a few minutes with his mom. Just come home." Hikari sounded relieved.

"…Fine. Be there in ten minutes." Tai hung-up.

"Koushirou's with his family? What a relief." Ms. Yamiko didn't need Tai to relate the phone message, as they had all overheard.

"I hope he's okay!" Sora looked up at Matt, who seemed speechless.

"Well you won't find out sitting here." Ms. Yamiko scooted the kids out of the computer lab. "But I think the digimon should stay here with me until you guys come back. We don't want to give people out on the street heart attacks, now do we?"

"School food?" Agumon asked in earnest. He had a one-track mind.

"I'll see what I can do." Ms. Yamiko laughed.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

The sidewalks were still damp and the sky cloudy but it had stopped raining. Tai leaped over puddles, jogging at a brisk pace back towards his family's apartment building. Sora and Matt were close behind, struggling to keep up.

"Wait up, Tai." Sora called. Matt seemed to be falling behind.

Taichi didn't slow his pace, but just kept on straight ahead. Everything was going to be okay… at least Tai hoped everything would be. He tried to remember how relieved TK sounded when he said Izzy had come back. Koushirou had come back, but from where? Where did he go? And why?

Tai leapt up the stairs three at a time. He remembered doing the same thing not long ago with Izzy right behind him. Koushirou was coming over to tutor Tai on his Trig homework. Tai had made a fool of himself and had insulted his friend that night. _What he wouldn't give to go back, knowing what he now knew…_

The apartment door was already open. Tai walked in, looking around at the small gathering in his living room: Miyako, Iori, Daisuke, Takeru, and Joe.

"Welcome home, Tai." Kari leapt up from her spot on the sofa next to TK and gave her brother a hug. This seemed like a good sign.

Izzy hadn't arrived yet, it seemed. Tai automatically hugged Kari back. "What happened?"

"Izzy will explain." Kari shook her head. She refused to say more, but welcomed Sora and Matt as they breathlessly arrived at the front door.

"Where have you been? I've been calling your homes for ages. I think your father is a little irked with me for waking him up." Kari smiled at Matt.

"Oh." Matt remembered his promise to Tai. "I guess I need to call him."

Tai was pacing back and forth.

"Hey, where's Mrs. Kamiya?" Sora asked Hikari.

"She went to go get food." Kari gestured towards their company.

"Great, I'm starving!" Daisuke shouted. Everyone glared.

Taichi couldn't think about eating. His stomach was still in knots. He'd gone through too much in one day too quickly. Everyone started making small talk. Tai ignored them and kept pacing. All he could think about was what Matt had said back in the Digital World. _Izzy's been in love with you for a long time…_

What did that mean? How was he supposed to react to that? Even if Izzy was home safe and sound, things weren't going back to normal. Tai's stomach flopped again, thinking that maybe he might lose his best friend in a different way. What if Izzy had found someone else? Someone who loved him back?

"Welcome back, Mom. Do you need a hand with those?" Kari got up again to help Mrs. Kamiya with what looked like enough food to feed a small army. Pretty soon the girls were all in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Time ticked by and still no Izzy.

Mrs. Kamiya told Tai to stop pacing, as it was making her dizzy. Joe readily agreed. He tried engaging Tai in conversations to no avail. After a while he gave up, leaving Tai to sit on the sofa alone.

_…rrrrring_. The doorbell rang. The room went quiet.

"I'll get it." Mrs. Kamiya made her way to the front door. Tai couldn't wait; he followed his mother to the door.

"Please, come in! Its so good to see you're alright, Koushirou." Mrs. Kamiya said as she opened the entrance. Tai leapt out before Izzy and Mrs. Izumi could get through the door.

There he was. He was safe. Tai pulled his friend into a hug, wordlessly. Izzy resisted at first, spluttering. But after a minute, it was obvious Tai wasn't letting go.

"Where were you?" Tai demanded. His voice muffled from trying to talk to Koushirou through spiky, red hair. Izzy just hugged back.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

It turns out Koushirou was on his way to the hospital to meet with Chris when the train route got canceled due to flooding. He tried to take an alternate route only to find himself stranded halfway across town, too far from anywhere familiar to walk.

His cell phone got wet from the downpour. He didn't have money for a cab or a hotel, but he had to get out of the rain. Izzy found a relatively dry place to wait the storm out under a bridge. But it got cold, so he got out his trusty pineapple laptop and sought refuge from the storm in the Digital World. He hadn't intended to spend the night, but as time went by he had no choice. He slept in a digital hiding tree.

In the morning the battery on his laptop had died. Koushirou had to go out searching for a monitor, without disturbing grumpy, or potentially dangerous digimon. Without Tentomon for protection, Izzy was easy prey. "But I finally found a monitor with an open gate. From there I borrowed a phone,called my mom, and she came to pick me up." Izzy finished.

Everyone had gathered around the coffee table in the living room by this time, listening to Koushirou's story. "I'm sorry I worried everyone so. I should have known my boy would be just fine." Mrs. Izumi said, sitting by her son, obviously proud but also relieved.

"But how come you could open the gate in the first place?" Daisuke interrupted. The older digivices weren't made to traverse between worlds like the newer D3 version.

Izzy blushed. "I made some alterations." Everyone laughed.

"It seems to have created some unforeseen effects on the gate system. The only open gate I could find access to was Highton View Terrace, but I arrived in the real world several blocks away in a department store." Koushirou began.

"Oh, I see. You didn't alter your digivice, you altered the gates. That's why we came through at the school." Sora chimed in. No wonder Kari sounded so concerned about where they had came through to the real world earlier, worrying they might be stranded somewhere just like Izzy had been.

Izzy's cheeks went even redder. "I'll fix it. What were _you_ doing in the Digital World?"

"We were looking for you, of course." Matt answered roughly. He seemed to be back to his haughty self. "How long have you known about Ms. Yamiko?"

"Er." Izzy clammed up.

Sora and Matt gave the shortened version of what they had told Tai in the Digital World about Chris Fairway, going off to search for Izzy, meeting Tai, and eventually coming through to the real world at school. Tai noticed they conveniently skipped their blabbing about Izzy. He guessed it was something best left unsaid, for now.

"Wow! She's probably one of the original digi-destined Gennai talked about." Takeru's eyes sparkled.

"She doesn't really like to talk about it." Izzy said.

Everyone started chatting in groups again, discussing this new development. Mrs. Kamiya had food ready and passed it around. It wasn't long before the mood changed from gathering of concerned friends to one of celebration. Mrs. Izumi, Joe, and Iori took a car to pick-up the digimon from the school. Earlier worry fell way to laughter.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

"Tai?" Izzy's voice was soft but shaky.

Mrs. Kamiya was dishing out ice cream. Most everyone had gone to the kitchen. Tai looked over at his friend. He hadn't left Izzy's side since his arrival hours before.

"Yeah?" Tai replied.

"You can let go now. I'm not going anywhere." Izzy looked down at their clasped hands.

Tai didn't immediately let go. "Er. Yeah."

"I went by the hospital on my way here. That's why it took so long." Izzy apologized.

Tai felt his heart sink. He didn't respond except for nodding.

"I saw Chris. I think things are going to be okay. Richey was there…" Koushirou whispered. Tai couldn't imagine Richey visiting Chris in the hospital being a good thing.

"He wasn't there to throw more punches, was he?" Tai's eyes narrowed.

"Quite the reverse, I think. He had roses." Izzy giggled.

"Really?" Tai snickered. "You don't think…?"

"Sometimes those who fear gay people the most are gay themselves, so who knows?" Izzy shrugged. "I promised to stop by again before Chris is released. You want to come?"

Taichi wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about a lot of things. But somehow he felt safer when thinking about accompanying Izzy. "Sure. So you don't get lost again."

"Sorry for making you worry." Koushirou added.

Tai looked down at Izzy's hand. It was a small gesture, and he wasn't sure yet where it might lead, but he took Izzy's hand in his own again anyway.

"Just don't do it again, okay?" Tai smiled.

_**[And there you have it! Please, please leave a review. I left the ending open on purpose, and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on what happens next! Many thanks for reading through my second complete story. Stay tuned for another!]**_


End file.
